Independent Inquiry into JMM - Terms of Reference

In light of ongoing concerns regarding cases of violence against minors by J.M.M., a former consecrated member of the Focolare, resident in France, the Focolare Movement decided to entrust to an independent Body, GCPS Consulting, the task to set off and bring ahead an extraordinary inquiry.

The task of GCPS Consulting will be to listen to the victims and to gather further testimonies, as well as investigating whether there were any omissions, cover ups or silences on the part of those responsible for the Movement. At the end of the investigation, the independent Body will make its final report public.

Object of the mandate

The object of the mandate given by the Focolare Movement to GCPS is to achieve the following general objectives:

1. To carry out an investigation into the sexual abuses committed by JMM, reviewing the details of known offences, the context in which they occurred, and highlighting others that may come to light.
2. To establish, as far as possible, the degree of knowledge of these events by the persons responsible at the time and subsequently, and assess how they were dealt with by the persons responsible, in the light of the historical periods concerned.
3. To provide recommendations on current child protection arrangements - for the Focolare in France and more generally for the whole Focolare Movement - including reporting and response systems and, in particular, case management.
4. To draw up within a year a public report detailing the findings and recommendations of the commission of enquiry.

To achieve the above objectives, with the collaboration of the Focolare Movement's Central Commission for the Promotion of the Welfare and Protection of Minors (CO.BE.TU.), GCPS Consulting shall gather all available information about JMM's history. This includes: how he entered the Movement, the time he lived in the Focolare in-house communities, his activities, responsibilities, and contacts, the circumstances in which he operated and was in touch with minors, his collaborators and contemporaries, reports of abuse received against him, and any other relevant details about him.